The Man at the Bar – How God Opened My UNIBEN Admission Supernaturally

After returning from Lagos to Benin City, my only mission was clear—I wanted to gain admission into the University of Benin. I waited with expectation, watching the first admission list come out. My name wasn’t there. I held my breath for the second list. Again, no trace of my name.

I was disappointed, but not discouraged.

Friends encouraged me to try getting a pre-degree admission at Ambrose Alli University in Ekpoma. I began exploring the process, but something inside me kept pulling my heart back to UNIBEN. I didn’t fully understand it then—but God was quietly arranging a divine setup.

One particular day in December 1999, while thinking about my future, a memory flashed into my mind—the ₦500 seed I had sown two years earlier, specifically for my education. I paused and began reminding God of that seed, speaking His promises back to Him.

That same evening, with nothing special in mind, I went to rent a video cassette from a video club on Etete Road in GRA. I was simply strolling back home when suddenly I heard someone shouting at me from an outdoor bar.

I turned.

A young man sitting with his friends waved me over.

When I approached, he began asking after one of my older brothers. But since I had four older brothers, we couldn’t immediately figure out which one he meant. As we talked, he asked what I was doing with myself.

I told him plainly, “I’m waiting to be admitted into UNIBEN. I want to study English and Literature.”

At once, he lit up with excitement.

“That’s my faculty!” he said.

In the middle of his drinks, without hesitation, he reached into his pocket, pulled out a business card and handed it to me.

“Go to the university tomorrow,” he said. “Give this card to the Dean.”

That night I slept with an unusual sense of expectation.

I went the next morning.

I presented the card.

Instantly everything changed.

The Dean looked at the card and his eyes brightened.

“You are PATTO’S brother?” he asked, with genuine excitement.

I didn’t even know the man’s full name—only that he gave me the card. Yet the Dean began announcing to everyone around him with pride, “This is Patto’s brother!”

He was on sabbatical leave, but that small business card carried the weight of favour.

Right there, my file was opened.

My admission was processed.

And I was ushered into the University of Benin—the very place God intended for me.

I never saw that young man again—not once—until the day I graduated and left the university.

It was simple.

It was effortless.

It was divine.

Only 

God could have orchestrated a testimony like that.